Pneumatic support



June 29, 1965 1'. K. PETERsr-:N 3,191,706

PNEUMATIC SUPPORT Original Filed Sept. 6, 1960 y 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 United States Patent C) 3,191,706 PNEUMA'HC SUPPRT Thorvald K, Petersen, Santa Monica, Calif., assigner to 'Bougies Aircraft Cempany, lne., Santa Monica, 'tCali Original application Sept. 6, 1969, Ser. No. 53,974. Divided and this application .lune l1, 1%2, Ser. No. Zllljtl 1 Claim. (Cl. 13G-7) This application is a division of co-pending application Serial No. 53,974, led September 6, 1960, now abancloned.

This invention broadly relates to derricks, particularly multi-leg jacking derricks employed in conjunction with weighing cells and pads in the weighing of aircraft, but also concerns itself with jacking derricks used for other purposes than that of Weighing aircraft. It is, in fact, relevant to all multi-leg derricks in which a load is to be jacked up or down by means of a truly vertical jacking thrust to enable accurate response of a weighing cell interposed between the jack-end and a pad on the vehicle.

One of the onerous tasks in weighing airplanes, for example, by means of multi-leg jacking derricks, working with a weighing cell and a pad on the underside of the craft, emanates from the fact that, for reasons hereinafter detailed, any minor change in the attitude of the airplane electuates significant changes in the proper horizontal distance between the derricks that is, the distance that should exist between the major (three in aircraft) Contact areas of the three jacks and cells with the pads on the aircraft. Usually, also, because of the quite high friction between the jacks feet and the floor, the jack cannot move on the Hoor in ail directions necessary to enable it to adjust itself so as to maintain the jack vertical under the pads. Friction with the ground plane thus causes one or more derricks to fail to reposition itself perfectly under the jacks pads thus altering these horizontal distances and the verticality of the jack and subjecting the derrick to an unbalanced side load or loads, because, without the present invention the derrick cannot reposition itself over such irregularities to maintain these distances constant or maintain the axis of the jack cylinder truly vertically beneath the airplane. This imbalance either renders the cell-reading inaccurate or destabilizes the craft being weighed, or both.

It is quite difficult, when not impossible, to manually adjust the uncentered leg or legs over, or onto, the irregularities in the oor and the present invention provides a weighing derrick so constructed that the lower ends of the legs may reposition themselves to re-establish the true horizontal dimensions between the jacking points on the vehicle, the legs having feet or leg-ends also so constructed that they cannot be thrown out of mutual coplanarity upon encountering rugosities, etc. in the oor. Each leg is provided with novel means that oat each legend and floatingly adjust the leg-end to, or over, or onto, irregularities, thus automatically levelling the derricks footings, placing all leg-ends in co-planarity, and eliminating unbalanced side loads on the legs, as well as allowing omni-directional movement of each derrick on a ilm of pressure-air so as to reposition itself with respect to the other derricks, as aforesaid. Accordingly, the contact of the jack-cylinder with the weighing cell is always lgi Patented .lune 29, 1955 maintained absolutely vertical, thus eliminating weighing errors introduced by side loads on the leg-ends and obviating oit-center thrusts applied to .the cell by the hydraulic jack of the derrick. The horizontal distances between jacks also automatically adjust themselves to shifting attitudes of `the vehicle. Y

Broadly considered, these and other objects are attained by providing the combination with a central jack-element supported by a tripod, of tripod footing-means, or novel leg-ends, constructed and arranged to aerostatically buoy up the derrick, with respect to the derricks supporting surface, such as a door, so that the leg ends and the derrick iloat over or onto, or with respect to the iloor, thereby to enable the derrick to move in any horizontal direction necessary to reposition itself if the airplanes attitude should change, thus to maintain the aforesaid horizontal distance at their desired magnitudes, while adjusting, automatically, each footing to, on, or over iloorirregularities, thus adjusting all legs into, in effect, coplanarity, or at least into attitudes that set up no unbalanced side loads that would cant or tilt the longitudinal center-line of the derrick out of the vertical attitude.

By way of example only, the application of these and other concepts to an airplane weighing jack combined with a weighing cell, and a pad on the airplane, is representationally depicted in the accompanying drawings and is described hereinafter in conjunction with said drawings. it is to be well understood, however, that this exempiiiicatory embodiment does not constitute the sole physical form that lies within the scope of the invention, the true nature and ambit of the invention being set forth in the annexed claim defining same.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a phantom top plan View of an airplane in process ot being weighed and employing three of the present weighing jacks;

FIG. '2 is a side elevational View of a hydraulic lifting jack, used in conjunction with a weighing cell and liftreceiving pad, in weighing airplanes;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of this derrick, or jack; and

FG. 4 is an enlarged, detailed view of the foot, or lower terminus, arrangement and construction that each of the legs of the derrick bears.

In FIG. l, an airplane is shown as lifted, with its landing gear out of Contact with the ground, by means of three jacking-type tripod weighing derrick units, 10. One unit 1d is located under each of the landing gear bogies (not shown) in each wing-half and one unit 10 is located under the forward portion of the fuselage.

As shown in FIG. 2, the derrick or lifting jack 10 takes the form of a tripod having three legs, 12, 14, 16 of equal length and each preferably consisting of hollow metallic tubing. Legs l2, ld, 16 may, if desired, be individually pivotally joined, at their upper ends, to a. ring or spider 18, by means of articulations or pivots 22, in order that the tripod may be collapsed llaterallyj as well as vertically by means of the jack cylinder, for compact storage, if desired.

The spider 18, if utilized, is rigidly fixed to the main cylinder 20 of a centrally disposed hydraulic jack, the piston 53 of which is shown retracted, it being protractable, with a weighing cell 74 engageable in a pad 70 on the underside of the airplanes fuselage or other main component.

At the lower run of the legs there may be provided, if desired, a stabilizing linkage consisting of links 24, 26, 28. lf employed, they are pivotally connected at their outer ends to the respective legs and are similarly connected, at their inner ends, to the spider TS.

Each leg 12, 14, 1.6 is provided with a foot, or bearing, or supporting web-foot or air-buoy, 3i). Each foot 39 is connected, in a novel manner later described, to the lower terminus of the adjacent leg, to a height-adjusting device, 32 etc., and to an inlet 46 for pressurized air.

More specifically referring to the mounting arrangement for each foot 30, it consists of a horizontal, circular ange or plate 34 Welded to the lowermost end of the legs, 12, 14, 16; a centrally threaded boss 36 welded to the upper face of the flange, an elongate, hollow shaft 38 fixed at its lower end to `the foot .in a novel manner later particularized, and bearing an air inlet means 46 and 40 at its upper end; an intermediate portion of this shaft being threaded as shown on its periphery for working up and down in the complementarily threaded boss 36. The uppermost end of shaft 3S is shaped for engagement with a hand-crank 32 for actuating the rod.

Thus, initial adjustments of each foot with respect to the floor contour may be made by hand, while adjustments of the Vprotraction and retraction of the piston S eifectuate both coarse and fine adjustments in levelling the airplane during the weighing thereof, conventional control of the Vhydraulic means 76, etc. being provided but not shown.

The shaft 33 which serves as a load carrying member to ytransmit the weight of the airplane to the air buoy 30, terminates at its lower end in a downwardly concave, spheric flange 42 surrounding the lower mouth of the airpassage in 3S, etc. The foot 30 itself is enabled to pivot in all three planes of space by means therein cooperating with and acting as a fulcrum for such movements, the

lvirtual center of this fulcrum, or ball-and-socket joint, to ythat 'end lying conguent or cincident with the lowermost surface of the Web-foot or pad. This congruency obviates all overturning moments which -would tilt the trailing or 'leading edge of the foot downwardly to cause detrimental drag and, worse, would allow blast-out of the buoying air at an edge of the foot.

The foot 3i) is constructed as a laminated disc having a rigid back-up, or gase plate 4S having which defines, at its 4central-portion, a hollow portion for surrounding and holding the periphery of a spheric bearing plate 44, the hollow portion being closed olf at the top by means of a centrally .apertured plate 60 united to 4S by stud bolts, or the "like, 63, as shown. Aligned with and below plate 6@ is Van annular, centrally perforate ange 78. On ange 78 the upwardly convex, centrally perforate spheric bearing plate 44 is iixed in such manner as to cooperate with `s'pheric flange 42, there being sufficient peripheral clearance between 42 and the central hollow in 4S to permit a rather wide range of self-adjustment of foot 30 around this articulation in all directions in space, thereby to enable further f automatic coarse adjustments of the foot to a rough oor `or the lground. These adjustments are facilitated by the geometry of this fulcrum means which locates the virtual pivot point 86 at the center of the lower surface of the foot.

As'previously mentioned, the footing or vdisc-like unit 30 isvlaminated, the lower face of the rigid disc 48 being bonded as shown at 52 to a lamina of resiliently-yieldable material 50 which is of novel construction, arrangement,

shape and functioning.

Preferably, disc 50 consists of a multicellular, closed cell elastomer, such as a synthetic or natural rubber, the disc `being quite concave near its center.

However, it may well consist of a resilient plastic, such as a foamed polyurethane of the type that is bondable to discs 4S made of such metals as iron, aluminum and the like. The exposed face of the lamina is covered with a thin but tough skin layer of given extent.

This lamina Sti is provided primarily for the purpose of yieldably fitting to very minute or microscopic or so-called mirror door-irregularities; it is an auxiliary to the principal levelling .agent-pressurized air interposed as a layer between 59 and the oor. Another one of its functions is to serve as a barrier to prevent the air from leaking away too rapidly around the periphery of the foot. The main vertical and side loads of the derrick or jack, however, are taken by this very thin layer of pressurized air slowly escaping around the foots periphery and underlying each foot, so that the derrick and all its legs float on a owing layer of pressurized air. The layer is preferably .015 to .03() inch thick but the invention is quite operable with both thinner and thicker layers.

It follows that on encountering irregularities in the floor of average height or depth, the foot merely floats on, over or past, same thereby obviating the unbalanced side loads heretofore applied to one or more legs by their feet riding onto minute proturberances or dropping partially into minute depressions, or encountering floors that are localizedly smooth but, overall, contain vundulations over a Thus, the feet are capable of omni-directional movement in a horizontal plane, for the purpose hereinbefore stated and also of self-adjustmentinto c0- planarity.

Rugosities are also encountered for by the action of the balland-socket combination 42, 44 etc., any not thus being compensated for being taken care of by the derrickfloating layer of pressurized air flowing radially outwardly under the foot. The ball-and-socket sub-combination also lpermits the edge of the foot to roll or rotate around its vertical axis on an obstacle should said edge encounter an insurmountable, laterally located obstacle, such as occurs when the foot is slid up a channel or guide having narrow side walls.

Lamina 5t? is xedly clamped, at its central portion, to the lower face of rigid disc 44 by means of a disc-like'porvtion 54 of tiange 78 having a hollow neck, as shown, for

coaxially registering with the air passage through the hollow articulation aforeclescribed. Portion 54 is fixed through the lamina 50 to member 44 by means of stud or carriage bolts, or'the like, 64 as shown. The lamina 50 can, if desired, be bonded directly'to disc 48.

A plenum Vchamber 56 is formed at the bottom center of foot 3@ by virtue of the shape of the lower face of 'lamina 50, and air flowing out from throat 37 and between 'lamina 50 and the floor provides a substantially frictionless supporting layer for the derrick. This orifice 37 is proportioned in diameter to pass only a predetermined `to the lower end of 14 in such a manner that a concentrated, or centered, reaction'is thereby applied to each leg-end.

As shown in FIG. 2, a target-type level66 is provided on the member 2t) to indicate verticality of the derrick. Air hoses 62 lead pressurized air from a socurce thereof, not shown, to the plenum chambers.

Although certain descriptive and specific terminology, certain parameter, geometrical shapes, and other specificities have been employed thereinabove, such utilization has been made thereof for the purpose ot concreteness merely. It is to be understood-that these specificities constitute no sort of limitation upon the'scope of the invention unless required -by the terms and ambit of the sub-joined claim.

I claim:

A terminus for a load supporting device, comprising: a post-like, member extending substantially vertically and having a downwardly-opening spheric socket on its lower end; a separate, rigid platelike member having in its 5 6 median portion an upward spheric member complementary ing edge of said pivoted terminus under movement thereof to the spheric socket and engaged in same; a yieldable with reference to the ground plane.

member united to the lower face of said plate-like member and having a lowermost surface confronting the ground References Cited by the Examiner plane; and means for supplying pressurized air to said 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS lowermost surface so as to maintain a thin film of pres- 2,91g,183 12/59 Petersen et a1 18o-7 Surized air between said surface and the ground plane; the 3,052,483 9/62 Petersen 180-7 virtual center of pivoting of the two aforesaid sphric 3,097,718 7/63 Jay et al 180-7 members on each other lying in the plane of the lowermost face of said yieldable member, whereby to obviate tuck- 10 A' HARRY LEVY Prlmary Exammer' under-caused drag of either the trailing edge or the leadg PHILIP ARNOLD, Examiner. 

